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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27513196">A Rewrite of Miraculous Ladybug that's a bit longer than I remember</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Causemufins/pseuds/Causemufins'>Causemufins</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Miraculous ladybug rewrite [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Rewrite, Chat is not head over heels for Ladybug, Fix It Fic, Fix-it fic, Marinette is not head over heels for Adrien, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, but i can't help myself so there's alot, more concept than normal fic writing, salt rewrite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 04:21:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,481</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27513196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Causemufins/pseuds/Causemufins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I rewrite Miraculous ladybug, but not so much complete rewrite, but more I describe what would change. so it's more like an in length Wikipedia summary instead of reading a transcript or something similar. That was I can easily skip the parts that stay the same, explain things that may not be covered if it were portayed like a normal episode or something, and also it might have been longer if I didn't do it this way.</p><p>In otherwords, it's still a rewrite, but in more uncommon style.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Miraculous ladybug rewrite [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Origins Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Made before I started: So while I have a lot of fics, I keep really wanting to do a rewrite of miraculous ladybug because… the base premise is great but the writing is… not. So while i can’t fully rewrite it all, I’m doing drabble esque rewrites. Season 1 was before you know who took over as main writer, so it’s not as bad, but I’ll add some stuff here and there.</p><p>Made after I started: huh.... so the first chapter is over 2000 words. guess it's longer than I thought</p><p>(the title is a slight salt and pepper diner reference)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nooroo telling Hawkmoth about the ladybug and cat miraculouses makes sense. Gabriel asks for a reminder of the miraculous powers, and that’s because while he’s been using the miraculous plenty in the past, he never used the powers much.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wayzz telling Fu about the butterfly miraculous doesn’t phase Fu as much because the butterfly and peacock have been activated before, it’s just since no powers were used, they could never track them down. The part of the dark energy does surprise Fu because he thinks that means it’s a new person and also that the powers are going to be used and used for evil. Since he’s already been looking for the miraculouses, though not as much as he hasn’t had many leads over the years and has slowly given up, he wants to take it upon himself and tries to transform, but fails, not being in the right shape. He panics a little because that means he needs to find new heroes likely on a time limit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While training them would be nice, because of the immediate danger and the fact that he’s not in the best shape, he knows he’s going to have to hide his identity for at least a little while. He then goes out and does a few quick crude tests to see who would fit the miraculous best. He doesn’t just just Marinette and Adrien, but a few other people. Marinette is like a perfect fit for the ladybug miraculous which would also heal any damage done, so he goes with her. Since he doesn’t want a teen all on her own, he goes with Adrien who proved to be good enough for a miraculous, but he couldn’t determine which one. Since the Ladybug and Cat were often paired together, Adrien got the cat. Also while there was someone who proved to be a bit better, having Marinette take lead as Ladybug would be hard with her being young and a cat being an adult.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette is still late waking up, not because of sleep issues but because she doesn’t want to go to school. She’s been harassed by Chloe enough that school scares her and she doesn’t want to potentially be stuck with Chloe again. While she has some support from Nino, he hadn’t been in her class for a while so she was technically alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s parents call her down. Their names are instead Zhen Cheng and Elio Dupain which are names from their country of origin and also not based on real people. Elio gives Marinette some macarons to give to the class and Zhen gives her daughter a pep talk. Then Marinette goes out and saves Fu, this time the stakes being a little higher because a car does actually manage to clip her a little bit though she’s safe enough to go to school.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette gets to school and goes to the classroom of Miss Bustier who she did not actually have the previous year. While it’s a different classroom, the layout of all classrooms are the same so Marinette tries to go to the seat she always chooses, second row closer to the door but in the middle. It’s perfect for her because it gives her the least distractions but also she’s too nervous to be in the front row.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chloe shows up and gets Marinette to move to a space that she wouldn’t want not just because Chloe wants Adrien near her, which would be in the front near the door because of him needing to leave for his photoshoots often, but also because Chloe just wants to make Marinette’s life worse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>New girl Alya shows up and defends Marinette which surprises Marinette because everyone knows that Chloe is the mayor’s daughter. Alya however moved from America, Her mom being a popular enough chef that she got a job at one of the best restaurants in Paris. Because of the heroes in America, Alya idolizes Majestia who while is mainly in New York is powerful enough to appear in most of the country so Alya once met Majestia after some incident. Because no one else wants to be friends with Chloe’s victim and Alya is the only exception, she and Marinette become friends mainly because Marinette just wants someone and Alya is new and looking for anyone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Outside the school Adrien is trying to get in but is stopped and Nathalie and the Gorilla show up to stop him. They didn’t know he would be trying to go but saw him on the security cameras since the mansion is close enough to the school. They also didn’t know because Chloe got her dad to help with forging paperwork for Adrien to be allowed into the school. Adrien is almost to the door when he sees Fu on the ground struggling to grab his cane. Adrien hesitates for a moment before running to help Fu. Because of that, the Gorilla was able to grab Adrien and drag him back to the car. Adrien is disappointed that he couldn’t go to school when he was just steps away from that freedom, but decides helping that old man was a better choice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At lunch break Kim riles up Ivan with a note and Ivan is upset enough to punch Kim. Bustier only catches the punch and sends Ivan to the principal before she can hear him out since this time there was actually a punch thrown instead of Ivan yelling at Kim with just a clenched fist which should have gotten them both in trouble.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ivan goes to the office, already upset and just barges in. Damocles tells Ivan to try again, knocking this time which makes him even more upset which makes the akuma take hold as while he was angry before, he knew going to the principal was justified since he did actually hurt Kim. Ivan transforms and starts with destroying the principal’s office since he’s right there, then takes to the streets since he heard before getting sent to the office that the class was being taken down the street to the library.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Going out onto the streets alerts Paris and the class finds out before he arrives since as a big rock monster, Ivan is slow to get there. The far away rumbling gets the class to pull up the news. Most of the class has never seen something like this so they listen when the teacher gets them to evacuate to home. Alya on the other hand is used to heroes and villains all over the place in America and so she runs into the danger, having gained a false sense of security from all the heroes in America helping with even the smallest things.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien is back at the mansion working on homeschooling and while he complains about wanting to go outside in the real world, he’s told it’s dangerous, which isn’t helped by Stoneheart’s rampage right outside the house. Nathalie goes to check on Gabriel leaving Adrien alone which is when he finds his miraculous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile Marinette has gotten home and she’s quickly grabbing what she thinks is important to save since this villain is obviously destructive. She is grabbing her design book from next to her computer when she sees the miraculous box and opens it. She’s already on edge from the monster attack and she’s also living in a bakery where pest control is a high priority so she easily freaks out when Tikki appears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette captures Tikki and is going to leave her behind since getting to safety is more important than telling your parents about the bug problem, but Tikki stops Marinette and gives a quick run down that Marinette needs to help with the akuma problem outside. Marinette is reluctant, but Tikki convinces her saying that it can just be a one time thing and someone else can be found if Marinette decides she’s not up to the task.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien on the other hand is intrigued by Plagg appearing, not as concerned since he’s in a mansion with a big security system and he’s not on edge. Plagg asks Adrien to help be a hero, but he tells Plagg how he’s unfortunately stuck at home. Plagg tells Adrien that being a hero would be just the thing he needs to get out and be free to which Adrien realizes and jumps at the opportunity a little too eagerly, not hearing the important information before transforming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette on the other hand makes sure she hears everything from Tikki before transforming, even getting to the point where Tikki asks her to just transform as they’re just repeating questions and answers at this point. She’s not as worried about Tikki being gone and looking at her outfit since she already learned Tikki wouldn’t be around after transforming and that the costume doesn’t really matter since this is going to be a one time thing. She’s still unsure about actually going because Tikki’s not there to push her to actually go save the day, but when she sees her new friend biking down the road towards the akuma, Marinette immediately goes to try and help.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette fumbles a bit with the yo-yo but does manage to start swinging around, but in that time of speed learning, she loses Alya. In a panic to find her friend, she crashes into Adrien. She apologizes and realizes that this is the partner Tikki told her about. Adrien is glad that now not only does he get freedom, but he gets a new friend. When he tries to introduce himself, Marinette gets him to not use his real name and she goes by Ladybug since it’s simple and quick. When there’s another earthquake from the akuma, the two of them clumsily make their way towards him, getting used to how their weapons would and move them around on the way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They find Ivan having gotten to Kim who had not yet gotten home as it was further away. He trips and falls and Ivan was just about to grab the boy when Chat Noir stands in his way. Hawkmoth is glad to see at least one of the miraculous he’s after is being activated for this and orders Stoneheart to go after Chat Noir. Chat Noir parries the attacks but that causes Stoneheart to get bigger. Ladybug sees this and uses her yo-yo to try and move the akuma to the nearby stadium, being surprised at her own strength, though when he lands, Stoneheart grows some more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She and Chat Noir mainly just dodge the attacks, not wanting to attack back and make him grow more. Alya ends up arriving and filming, making enough noise that it catches Stoneheart’s attention. When he throws the net at Alya, Ladybug quickly goes to save her new friend. In that moment, Stoneheart is able to grab Chat Noir. Without any other ideas, she trips the akuma up, making him drop Chat Noir and the two of them are able to regroup. Ladybug points out that they need to find some way to stop him that isn’t hitting him and mentions their powers. Chat is confused, making Ladybug realize he didn’t listen to his kwami. She tells him how there are instructions in his baton and how they each have their own power. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chat reads the first line of calling cataclysm to use his power of destruction and uses it immediately before reading the rest. He tests it out of the net and runs off towards Stoneheart before Ladybug can stop him, leading him to being kicked back to Ladybug who explains that they’re only able to use their power once before detrasforming after a few minutes, also pointing out the time on his miraculous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug then uses her power, summoning the wetsuit which Chat laughs at, but Ladybug explains how they need to get and break an item Stoneheart has and capture the akuma within it. She points out the closed fist on Stoneheart and says that it must be there and this rubber suit can probably help get it out. Chat asks how it would help which makes Ladybug look around. She attaches the nearby hose to the wetsuit and then turns to Chat telling him she needs him to be grabbed again before flinging him at Stoneheart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From there it’s the standard way the battle happens and Ladybug smashes the rock letting the akuma out. As she reaches for her yo-yo to capture and purify the akuma, Alya runs over and starts filming Ladybug right in her face. While Ladybug tries to get around her friend, it doesn’t work and the akuma flies away. Ladybug quickly answers Alya’s questions and is about to run off when she sees Ivan on the ground and the destruction all around. She remembers to use her miraculous ladybug and then takes the note that was fixed back over to Ivan and gives him a quick pep talk. While she then wants to chase after the butterfly, her time beeps and she knows she won’t have the time to find it again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette barely gets home before detransforming. Tikki is proud of Marinette for saving the day, but she’s not as happy, telling Tikki the akuma got away. Shortly after the news announces about the new heroes which makes Marinette feel worse, followed by the multiplying akumas. Marinette brings up how Tikki said someone else could take her place and begins to take out the earrings. Tikki tries to protest saying that with the situation, there isn’t time, but Marinette already feels bad so she takes them off.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Origins Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>not as much to change so it's shorter than part 1</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next day Paris is worried about the stone beings that the akumas have created, but aren’t too scared since they haven’t done much and they all know about Ladybug and Chat Noir. Marinette knows that it’s really her fault so grabs the miraculous to give to someone else. She goes to school and that scene plays as normal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien uses the slight chaos of the stone beings and his miraculous to escape back out of the mansion and make it to school this time before anyone notices. He gets in a little earlier than before, seeing Ivan stomping off and Alya getting upset at Chloe. He calls out Chloe’s name to stop the argument. As everyone focuses on him, Marinette sneaks off to help Ivan.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they return to class, Adrien is horrified to see that Chloe is trying to put gum on the seat of someone else and tries to get rid of it. When Marinette gets upset, he quickly defends himself this time and says while yes, he’s confused at her acting so mean. Otherwise it goes the same.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Stoneheart reappears Marinette does go with Alya this time since there might not be time for Alya to learn everything and Marinette has all the information. The other stone hearts split them up enough for Alya to be pinned against a building and a car and with no other option, Marinette ends up deciding to be Ladybug once again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From there, everything proceeds as normal until the final scene. Marinette still tries to ignore Adrien but he explains himself better. How he’s never gone to school and Chloe is his only friend. He knows the way Chloe is acting is bad and is sorry that he didn’t know, but that he was really trying to get rid of the gum. Adrien says he understands if Marinette doesn’t trust him, but she puts a hand on his shoulder. She apologizes for jumping to conclusions and mentions seeing him hanging with Nino. If one of her few other friends approved of Adrien, she could too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette does form a small crush on Adrien from that point, but it’s not as intense as in canon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Plagg tells Adrien about the lovebirds, Adrien doesn’t call Marinette just a friend, but he says that he’s only just met this girl today and he barely has any friends. Maybe he does like her that way a little, but first, he just wants friends, and right now a friend is good enough for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wayzz and Fu are glad they chose well. Wayzz suggests visiting the two of them now that they know the teens are a good fit, but Fu shakes his head. The two of them work well, but they are still brand new heroes and young. While he knows that being able to teach the new heroes how to fight Hawkmoth, he wants to be absolutely sure that encountering them would be safe and right now they have too little information on Hawkmoth and how Ladybug and Chat Noir would respond to his help. In other words, the risk reward balance seems too skewed towards risk for now.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Stormy Weather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All that really changes is that Marinette is more responsible and Alya pushes her too much. also that theory that the vote was rigged.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Alya shows up to tell Marinette about Adrien’s photoshoot, Marinette barely shows interest knowing that Manon is a priority. Alya sighs because she’s known Marinette just long enough to know Marinette refuses to say know when people ask her for a favor. She can tell Marinette is a little stressed and tells her friend that the photoshoot is happening in the park so they could take Manon there so she can play and burn some energy, plus now there would be two people watching the kid. Marinette agrees and they leave.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Aurore loses the vote, she’s not as upset as she and Mirelle are classmates and did this together, she’s a little sad since she noticed Mirelle is a bit more camera shy, but figures Mirelle won for a reason. But when she sees that within half an hour of her friend winning that there are physical banners and balloons and what not claiming her win, she gets upset because that wouldn’t happen unless they knew the vote beforehand and she realizes it’s rigged. That causes her to be akumatized.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While Marinette is focused on Manon, Alya is trying to push her closer towards Adrien which backfires as Manon interrupts the photoshoot. Marinette ends up dragging Alya and Manon away. Alya keeps pushing for Marinette to be near the photoshoot, especially when the photographer asks for an extra. But Manon being a child keeps running away causing Marinette to be pulled in two directions. Finally Alya gets Marinette to go to the photoshoot as she watches Manon and then Stormy Weather appears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From there, the episode continues as normal though when Manon is chosen instead of her for the photoshoot, Marinette isn’t as upset and more relieved that she gets a small break from watching the kid.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Bubbler</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette has a little trouble waking up and when Tikki tries to wake her, she complains since she spent all night finishing up Adrien’s present, jumping up fully awake when she remembers that it’s Adrien’s birthday and she still has to wrap the present. Instead of being head over heels in love, she’s more pushed to make sure the present is perfect since she knows Adrien doesn’t have many friends so she doubts he gets many presents for his birthday. When going downstairs she also picks up a cupcake for Adrien as a birthday treat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of starting with handing Adrien his schedule, Nathalie starts by wishing Adrien a happy birthday but also starts with the news that Gabriel didn’t approve the party. Basically, it’s her putting Adrien first before her assistant job. Adrien then asks if his father will at least be showing up for breakfast to which Nathalie shakes her head. Adrien’s a little upset because normally his mom would be there to have a birthday breakfast with him and his dad would be busy with work. While his dad is still busy with work, he hoped that with it just being him now, he would put more of an effort into at least being there to say happy birthday.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he arrives at school, Adrien talks with Nino who tries to comfort Adrien. Marinette lets them talk before Alya really pushes Marinette to give Adrien her gifts. Marinette relents and goes over to Adrien and apologises for interrupting then gives Adrien the cupcake. She starts to also give him the present when Chloe pushes her over and takes Adrien’s attention. Just before Marinette can try again, the warning bell is called and they go into class.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While Marinette wants to give the present to Adrien at lunch, he leaves a few minutes early to get to his photoshoot, leaving Marinette to go with Alya and drop off the present at Adrien’s place. When they ring the doorbell, Marinette is surprised by the camera appearing but quickly composes herself. She says how she’s from Adrien’s class and knew it was his birthday so wanted to give him a present, but due to his schedule she wasn’t able to give it to him in person. Nathalie thanks Marinette and apologizes about Adrien’s schedule before asking Marinette to put the present (which is signed) in the Mailbox and she would get it to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Gabriel calls Nathalie to ask who was at the gate and Nathalie answers. When Gabriel mentions her getting Adrien a present for him she gets a bit upset because she was not asked to do that and while she knew that it likely would end up with Gabriel forgetting again and telling her to get Adrien a present, with Emilie gone he workload was bigger and she didn’t get a chance. Not wanting to upset Adrien by having to just give him another pen since that would be all she could get, she reluctantly turned to the gift Marinette had just left and cut off the tag saying it was from her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Nino appears asking to come in, Nathalie lets him, hoping that maybe one of Adrien’s new friends can convince Gabriel to let Adrien have a party. When Gabriel refuses, Nino gets upset. Instead of Gabriel yelling at Nino just calling him a bad influence, especially when Adrien came home and sided with Gabriel asking for Nino to see reason, Gabriel gets upset because Nino yells at him saying that Adrien does everything his father wants to the point where Adrien has almost no time to himself. From what Adrien said, Gabriel seems to practically forget Adrien’s birthday and would have if Adrien hadn’t asked for a party. Nino claims that Gabriel is a horrible parent, implying some kind of abuse which is why Gabriel blows up at Nino.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Nino leaves, he’s upset at Gabriel. He knows that parents need to have some sort of line drawn for their kids, but at the same time, some adults push against their kids too much thinking they can just because they’re older. That’s when he’s akumatized into Bubbler and starts going after adults, though not all of them as some younger adults and ones who are watching over extremely young children and ones that are kind are spared.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Adrien leaves the mansion to go back to school, he sees his classmates and the akumatized Nino. When he tries to run back into his house, bubbles block the door, forcing him outside where he can’t transform. Ladybug arrives as Bubbler is threatening to bubble Sabrina for requesting a slow dance. She uses her yo-yo to dismantle the dj set and Bubbler attacks. This causes everyone to scatter, and with the bubbles blocking the door gone, Adrien escapes to transform. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they get trapped in the bubble, Ladybug is horrified when Bubbler says they’ll eventually run out of air. She tells him that while maybe some adults aren’t the best, kids, especially young children need adults to help them and also this might kill the adults. Bubbler doesn’t listen and sends them up into the air. After that, the battle continues as normal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the end, Nathalie has forgotten to give Adrien the present due to the akuma attack, which she tells Gabriel in a bit of a deadpan before taking Marinette’s present to Adrien claiming it’s from Gabriel. Adrien, having briefly seen the wrapping when Marinette tried to give it to him earlier can tell he saw it before, but since it was that morning and it’s early evening now, plus the akuma attack was more important in his memory, he doesn’t remember that it was from Marinette specifically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next day when Marinette sees Adrien wearing the scarf, she’s happy and is about to comment that she’s glad he likes it, but when Alya compliments it first and Adrien says he thinks it’s from his dad, it confuses her. Marinette almost corrects him, but when Adrien continues, glad his dad finally got him something other than a pen, she stops herself. Since she gave Adrien the cupcake the day before, she doesn’t feel as upset because she still gave him a gift and he can be happy thinking his dad gave him a gift which from what she can tell, is a better gift to him than the scarf. While she’s a bit upset that it’s a sort of lie, she also glances over at Nino and decides it’s also better if he doesn’t get upset at adults and get akumatized again.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Copycat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Instead of Ladybug not showing up and Chat saying he and Ladybug are a thing, Ladybug does show up but leaves before her autograph can be taken and Theo wishes he were Chat Noir so he could be with Ladybug. Chat Noir laughs at the concept and instead of being akumatized into just a close, Copycat can look like Chat Noir or a slightly different cat so he can pretend to be a replacement while framing Chat Noir.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really changed this one up since I wanted to get rid of the angle of Chat Noir claims he and Ladybug are dating.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Instead of Marinette trying to invite Adrien on a date or get his number from Alya, she already heard about the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue and since she was invited, she goes to that. Shortly after her, Chat Noir arrives and they see the statue being unveiled. Theo tries to get Ladybug’s autograph, but with all the news people around, he’s unable to get the chance. </span>
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<p>
  <span>It also doesn’t help when once he does seem to finally get a chance, Chat Noir comes over to talk with Theo to give a few small critiques, thinking it’s a normal thing to do since it's what he deals with from modelling. Theo retorts it’s because Ladybug is a bit more important and Chat says he's just as important. Theo claims he could do better and that he might even get Ladybug to love him instead of Chat. Chat is taken aback and replies that he and Ladybug are a team, but they aren’t dating. Plus, they’re still sort of new heroes, so even if he’s not the best hero, Theo wouldn’t be that much better. </span>
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<p>
  <span>Theo is upset by what Chat Noir says and is more upset when Ladybug says she has to run and leaves. Theo stays a bit longer because of the press, but eventually storms off upset leading to him being akumatized. He’s able to shift between looking exactly like Chat Noir and also having a few differences such as a different eye color and hair. </span>
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<p>
  <span>Copycat looks like Chat as he starts being a criminal and making a bad name for Chat Noir. When it appears on the news, Adrien transforms and goes out, but the police go after him. While he doesn’t want to hurt the police and wants to prove he’s good by letting himself be taken in, when they try to handcuff him, the idea of being trapped in an actual prison freaks him out and he jumps back at the last second, quick enough he accidentally hits an officer. He tries to apologize but the police don’t listen, causing him to run off.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Ladybug arrives shortly after and talks to the police. While she doesn’t want to believe that Chat Noir could be a criminal, their description of the encounter with Chat Noir makes her worry enough to take it seriously. At that point Copycat arrives and everyone turns ready to stop him as he looks similar to Chat, but when they notice the differences they stop. Ladybug asks who he is and Copycat responds that he was called upon after Chat went rogue to replace him. While reluctant, Ladybug agrees to work with him to figure out what’s going on at the very least. </span>
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<p>
  <span>After a bit of a run around where Copycat kept leaving to frame Chat Noir more, Chat ends up getting captured by the police but he doesn’t run this time. He waits until Ladybug and Copycat arrive. Copycat starts yelling at Chat, giving the story about being Chat’s replacement but Chat says he’s being framed. Ladybug asks if he really didn’t steal the paintings or hurt the police. He says he didn’t steal but did accidentally hurt the police because getting arrested while being innocent scared him. Copycat just cuts Chat off calling him a liar and claims him to be unfit for his miraculous. Chat panics, and with there being no other way out, he cataclysms the bars trapping him and runs off.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Adrien finds somewhere and transforms back, telling Plagg that he can’t believe Ladybug and the new cat hero think he’s actually a criminal now. Plagg asks him what he means by ‘new cat hero’ and Adrien explains. Plagg shakes his head, telling Adrien that there can’t be another cat as long as Adrien has the miraculous. There may be other cats, but there is no other black cat and there is no other miraculous of destruction. Even if it would be another cat, most miraculouses have been lost to time so unless this person got really lucky, they wouldn’t have a miraculous. They also wouldn’t have been told to replace Adrien.</span>
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<p>
  <span>With that knowledge, Adrien goes back out and in trying to find Ladybug and the new cat, he runs into Copycat mimicking him. Chat runs over and grabs the copy, surprising him. He asks what this copy is doing and the copy shifts into his more unique form telling how he can be a better hero than Chat Noir. Chat is surprised and realizes this is the painter from before, but the copycat runs off before he can grab him again.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Since he now knows who this is and that he’s not with Ladybug, Chat uses his baton to call Ladybug’s yo-yo. When she picks up, she asks Chat Noir what he’s doing. Chat starts to explain that the new cat is an Akuma when Copycat arrives to Ladybug’s side and makes sure he can’t tell her the truth, instead convincing her to use the call to track Chat Noir.</span>
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<p>
  <span>When they do find Chat, he’s in Theo’s studio with all the missing paintings. Copycat quickly says that this is proof Chat was stealing but Chat Noir quickly tells Ladybug that his kwami said there couldn’t be a replacement and there was only one black cat miraculous. Copycat tells Ladybug not to listen and Ladybug almost believes Copycat when Chat pulls a sheet off a panel showing the sketches of the statue outside. He explains that this is Theo’s place and the sculptor claimed he could be a better Chat Noir than him. He explained how Copycat could make himself look exactly like Chat and was framing him. </span>
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<p>
  <span>Copycat pleads for Ladybug to listen and while before she didn’t know enough to refute the claim of Copycat being a replacement, the information of Chat’s kwami saying it was impossible changes her mind and she turns on Copycat.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Copycat gets upset and says he just wanted to prove himself. He would be better than Chat and Ladybug would have to love him then. Ladybug is taken aback by that and Copycat uses that chance to shift back into looking like Chat and launching himself at the real hero.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Due to the struggle, she can’t figure out who is who until Copycat nearly loses his photo of Ladybug he wanted autographed and paused his fighting to make sure he kept it and stuffs it in his pocket.</span>
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<p>
  <span>Ladybug sees this and summons her lucky charm. While the two cats fight she grabbed Chat’s baton and used it and her yo-yo to create a makeshift fishing rod with the spoon bent as a hook. Cating it out, she hooked Copycat’s belt and extended the baton to leave him in the air. She then called for Chat Noir to grab the photo in his pocket which he destroyed with Cataclysm.</span>
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<p>
  <span>With Theo turned back to normal and the paintings returned by the miraculous ladybug, Ladybug tells the sculptor that while he seems to have a crush on her, she doesn’t feel the same way and he should respect that. He also doesn’t need to be a hero because he’s already an amazing sculptor and she signs the photo for him. Chat lingers a little longer and tells Theo that while yes, he may like Ladybug in a romantic way like Theo, he understands that being a hero is more important so he’s not going after Ladybug. And if he as a hero isn’t going after her, people who spend less time with her shouldn’t either, especially since those close to heroes can be in danger. Theo thanks Chat for his words and apologizes for what he did, but Chat says it’s fine before leaving Theo alone.</span>
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